Review: A Banker's Journey by Daniel Gross

 This incredibly meticulous and well-researched book takes a look at the life of a man called Edmond Safra, a man who rose from family banking origins in Beirut to become one of the world's most respected and trusted bankers. 

At only 15 years of age, Edmond's father entrusted him to go to Milan, one of the most relatively stable parts of the world at that point, in order to set up new banking and business ventures. Though so young, Edmond showed wisdom, courage, determination, and grit far beyond his years. 

After the horrors of World War 2 and collapse of imperialism in the Middle East - though not without decisions whose ramifications are still being felt to this day - Edmond did what he could to help Jewish communities moving around or leaving the Middle East - particularly Syria and Lebanon - completely. Everywhere he went, he sought out community and helped people as much as he could while setting up lucrative, profitable, yet measured, business and banking institutions wherever he went. From Milan, to Switzerland, to Brazil, and New York, Edmond built up trust, respectability, and wisdom, as well as acquiring huge amounts of knowledge needed that came along with the quick evolution of global financial systems. 

Despite Edmond reaching dizzying heights of success and wealth, he never forgot nor begrudged the responsibility to community instilled in him by his deep sense of faith. From personal gifts (such as paying friends' hospital bills) to institutional giving (demonstrated by the Safra Foundation to oversee the distribution of his wealth after his death) Safra showed both in life and death that wealth and success give one more opportunities to be generous and change countless lives. 

Review: Discipline is Destiny by Ryan Holiday

 Ryan Holiday has just released the second in his series about the four principle Stoic Virtues. The first was "Courage is Calling" and he follows up now with the second virtue - Temperance, referred to in this book as "Discipline".

Using a mix of ancient thought and examples of public figures throughout history, from Roman Emperors to sports players, Ryan Holiday explains why the power of discipline and self-control is so important, in our lives, no matter our station or ambitions. 

The part that impacted me the most was how using this principle of temperance, or self control, in a society so given to distraction and alleviation from boredom, can actually enrich our lives and make it better. I am one of many people who are all too ready to reach for the phone at our fingertips to provide some sort of distraction. Using this practice of self-restraint can release a flow of creativity or thinking about how we want to make our lives better. 

There were some parts of it that I found could have been explored in terms of their nuances more thoroughly, such as the section on Queen Elizabeth II. Her personal characteristics and virtues were extolled wonderfully, but ignored/whitewashed the historical context of empire that is necessary to look at while examining such political figures; (the same for Winston Churchill). 

There were some incredible examples of people going against the grain of current political/intellectual/moral thought, such as when President Jimmy Carter, in 1977, exhorted the U.S. government to act on climate change - how much better would our current climate forecasts look if the world had listened to him??

Another section which I found incredibly meaningful/impactful was not just the importance of determination/persevering, but also knowing when to stop, such as the baseball player, Lou Gehrig. 

Overall, part motivational and part historical, Discipline is Destiny is a wonderful way for us to challenge ourselves and get out of our own way by acting on very straightforward precepts, even if the journey is not always easy. 

Review: The Mortification of Grace Wheeler by Colette Dartford

 No doubt a story that will resonate with many empty nesters, Colette Dartford's debut novel brings the intricacies of a close-knit family into the spotlight and examines what cracks appear when big changes come. 

Grace, the leading character, is struggling when her son, Josh, heads to university. After a shocking revelation from her husband, Cal, Grace is anxious about if she wants to keep pursuing her marriage. Wanting to feel closer to Josh, she signs up for fishing lessons - a great hobby of his - and gets drawn into the orbit of her young, handsome fishing instructor. 

Grace, whom has never had an affair, or done anything outside the box, finds a new thrill to pass her days. But a secret like this will never last long, and soon it threatens to tear apart not just her marriage, but those closest to them. 

Colette Dartford examines the different choices that the characters make without judgement or shame; it's emotional, tense, and deeply empathetic to the situations adults can  find themselves in later in life. It's a story that is well-paced and carries through to an ending that's surprising but fitting. 

Review: The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys, by Jack Jewers

 The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys imagines what would have happened after Samuel Pepys had stopped writing his famous diary. 

The start of the novel sees Pepys escaping barely clothed from a brothel in London that has been set on fire. When he eventually returns home - dragging his feet, wanting to avoid confrontation with his wife - he discovers that she has cracked his not-so-cryptic code and finds out how he's been playing around behind her back. 

Shortly after, the Duke of Albermarle gives him a dangerous task - to go to Portsmouth and uncover what he suspects to be corruption, as well as the murder of an agent of the Crown. 

When Samuel arrives in London, along with his assistant Will, they quickly discover that there is far more to this than a simple cover-up. 

Hilarity, chaos, and tensions ensue, not just domestically but with serious threats from aboard. The story quickly evolves from a straightforward whodunnit to a mystery that is reminiscent of Sherlock, though Samuel and Will are not quite so quick off the mark as Sherlock and Watson were. Samuel and Will discover layers and layers of secrecy, not least of all from Charlotte de Vere, a wealthy widow with a lot more to her than meets the eye. 

Described as "Bridgerton meets Sherlock", I would describe this novel as heavy on the Sherlock and not so much on the Bridgerton (there is no romance in it, after all, and takes place way before the Regency period". It's more of a historical mystery with good lashings of the thrill of the chase, topped off with a good illuminati-esque reveal. It's very entertaining, puzzling, with a satisfying reveal at the end. 

Review: How To Kill Your Best Friend by Lexie Elliott

 What could have been the holiday of a lifetime quickly turns into a holiday from which to be rescued...

Georgie, Lissa, and Bronwyn - best friends since university - were inseparable, but Georgie and Lissa even more so. However, circumstances created distance between them all.

Lissa and her husband, Jem, opened a luxury resort on an island in South-East Asia. Georgie worked in New York, and Bron became a stay-at-home-mother after a successful career in accounting. 

All are summoned to this island when Lissa is pronounced dead after witnesses saw her go swimming, never to return. 

Business trickles slowly away, and suspicions arise amongst the remaining guests - all those who knew Lissa. Georgie is the first to air these suspicions, and once the can of worms is opened, nothing will ever be the same. 

The novel is well-paced, laced with adrenaline and red herrings, and utterly readable in one sitting. I wouldn't recommend reading well into the night - you'll start to jump everywhere you look - but it is a perfect combination of a beach read and thriller. 

Review: Here Be Icebergs, Katya Adaui (English translation by Rosalind Harvey)

 This brilliant Peruvian writer has distilled a plethora of different family and relationship dynamics into twelve short stories. 

They range from the ordinary (The Hunger Angel, with 68 distinct memories that coalesce into a stark picture of life from 2 to 68) to the fantastical (Where The Hunt Takes Place, in which a family are contending with a mysterious beast that attacks their house nightly). Some, like We, the Shipwrecked, read more like poetry than prose. 

Every reader will be able to identify with the sharp flashes of memory this collection of short stories invokes, from the most mundane and random, to memories or periods of time we would rather bury (such as This Is The Man). There is no neat ending, or order, per se, to these stories. They are like a series of vignettes that allow us to examine the fictional lives of others and see if they reflect our own experiences. 

Here Be Icebergs is publishes by Charco Press. 

1989: The Narratives - This Love

She stood on the edge of the white cliffs and music drifted around her in the wind. 

The folds of her dress billowed around her while her hair tied itself in knots, caressing her cheeks. She tucked it behind her ears and looked out to sea. 

Clear, blue water glinted in the sun, a deceptive veil hiding its sheer power.  She looked to the tides and followed them as they crept forward. Crests of pure white frothed and churned. She longed to follow the path down to the shore and feel her feet soothed by the sea.

But no, she had to stay where she was, lest she missed it - the first glimpse of the ship that was bringing him back to her. 

She cast her mind back to when she saw the ship for the first time. She placed it now, just so, on the horizon. She heard the sound of its horn signalling its arrival. 

She had been much younger then. Sixteen, fresh-faced, anticipating the return of her father. But then she saw him, glorious him, for the first time. her father had taken him under his wing. But it was years before he truly saw her for the first time. 

And it was just in time. She thought she knew where she was going, but truly she was lost. It took someone whose life was rooted in impermanence to help her struggle through nights that were fraught with uncertainty. 

She remembered the way the lanterns flickered in the trees when he pressed his lips to her cheek for the first time. The smell of the spring rain when he uttered the three words she had been yearning for. The gloomy grey of the clouds when he told her he had to leave. 

The compelling music of his promise to return. And her pain that she couldn't trust it. 

Still, she looked to the horizon. Twisted the silver band around her finger. Felt the life spring within her when she finally spotted the ship that had brought so much more with it than brave men and women. 

Love. Hope. Promises that were kept. She counted the precious hours they had together this time and allowed herself to smile freely.